Indicator.



NDH.

INDICATOR.

APPHCATION FILED MAY 13, .l9ll

Patented. Nov. 9, 1915.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUST SUNDH, OF HASTINGS-UPON-HUDSON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF v NEW JERSEY.

INDICATOR.

Application filed May 13, 1911.

' pressure, and one of its objects is the provision of adevice for operating an indicator at a distance,'such, for example, as a tank indicator. v

Another object of the invention is to provide-an indicating mechanism that is simple in construction, strong, durable, comparatively inexpensive to manufacture, highly eflicient in its operation, and adapted to a wide field of usefulness.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described, and speciflcally pointed out in the claims.

In describing the invention in detail, reference is had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, wherein like reference characters indicate corre sponding parts throughout the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a sectional elevation view of my invention applied to a tank or fluld container-and adapted to indicate the height or amount of fluid therein; Fig.2 is a modification of my invention showing a circuit controlling device which may be substituted for the gage or indicator illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an illustration of my invention adapted to indicateat each floor landing the position and direction of movement of an elevator car.

Referring to Fig. 1, 1O designates a fluid pressure device comprisingan upper and lower section 11 and 12 respectively, be-

tween which is located a corrugated 'dia-.

phragm 13 made of copper or other flexible non-porous material. Screws 14 clamp these parts together so 'as'to form a fluid tight joint therebetween. The lower section is screw-threaded at 15 into a flange plate 16, which latter is secured by means of rivets or Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 9, 1915.

Serial No. 627,008.

other suitable fastening to the top of a tank 17. In the bottom of the lower section 12 is a cylindrical hole through which a sleeve 18 freely passes, suflicient metal being provided at the bottom of this section to form a sub-' stantial bearing for the sleeve. The upper part of the sleeve is flanged at 19 and is adapted to bear against a corresponding flattened portion of the diaphragm 18. A pin 20 pointed at its lower end is contained in the sleeve and is adapted to move freely I therein against the action of acompression spring 21. The lower pointed end of the pin 20 bears against a notch cut into the lever 22 which is pivoted at 25 to an extension 26 of the lower casing 12. The opposite end of the lever 22 is slotted at 24 and is connected by means of a link 23 to a radial slot 28 cut in the disk 29. The latter is pivoted to an extension 27 of the lower section 12 and is connected to a weighted float ball 8O floating in the liquid in the tank 17. By means of the slotted connection existing between the link 23 and the lever 22 and disk 29, respectively, it is possible tovary the position ofv this link with res ect to the disk 29 and lever 22, thereby a ording a ready means for altering or adjusting the leverage system so as to secure the desired results.

The upper section 11 of the fluid pressure device is completely filledwith a liquid such as oil, glycerin,- or other suitable fluid, into which extends a threaded bolt or plug 31 which may be screwed up or down into the fluid and then looked against movement by a lock nut 32, a rubber or leather washer 33 being provided for the purpose of making a fluid tight oint at this point. 35 designates a common type of Bourdon pressure gage or indicator and is connected by means of the piping 34: with theupper section 11 of the pressure device.

The operation of the device just described is, very simple and may be stated as fol .lows:-'The float ball 30 will always follow tension of the spring 21 that the latter which produces a varying pressure upon the sleeve 18 and diaphragm 13 in contact therewith, and,

' since the fluid containedin. the section 11 number of gallons contained in the tank, or ifso desired, the height of the liquid in inches, this being purely a matter of choice.

. The adjustment afi'orded by the adjustable link 23 is such that the leverage system may be increased or decreased as desired, thereby varying the amplitude of the gage hand. The plug 81 may be screwed down so as to displace some of the fluid, thereby insuring that the pressure system will filled with fluid at all times, As shown in Fig. 1 as the liquid is drawn from the tank and the float ball drops (the pressure on the cha-tacter or electric- A'SGCUOII of casing. A tension diaphragm will increase andthe gage hand will move in aclockwise direction. In some instances 1 connect the tloat ball to the opposite side of the disk 29 and the float ball will then be over toward the left hand end of the tank, so that, as the liquid is drawn ofi and the level in the tank drops, the pressure on the diaphragm decreases and the indicator hand moves to the left or counterclockwise' v I It is evident that the gage may be located at any desired distance from the pressure device 10, all that is necessary is to supply sufficient piping to connect the two together and have all of the joints absolutely tight against leakage. I

The device shown in 2 is intended to be substituted for the indicator or gage 35 and operates to close a circuit containing an electro-responsive. device of any desired lamps. This device comprises a casing having an upper and lower section 36' and 37 respectively, between whi h is a corrugated diaphragm 38. rod; 39 has a flange on one end in contact with the diaphragm, the other end or" the rod is pointed and bears against lever 4L0 pivoted at41 to an extension of the upper 4 spring 42 is connected to the lever 46 and to the casing 36 and is arranged to have its tension varied by means of the adjustment 43. The right hand end of the lever 40 carries an electrical contact which is adapted to be carried upwardly into electrical engagement with a corresponding fixed contact directly above, these contacts being designated by the numeral 44. It will be seen that as the liquid in the tank of Fig. 1 is lowered and the be completely will indicate directly the elevator car moves up or 49 carrie 1,1ae,coa a pressure in the'fiuid in the pressure device 10 is increased, this increase of pressure will act upon the diaphragm 38 of the device shown in Fig. 2 and the rod 39 will be lifted, thereby raising the lever 10 and closing the contacts 4A. While I have shown an electroresponsive device 4:5 controlled by the contacts H as a magnet winding, I contemplate using instead an electriomotor which may be connected to-a pumping device arranged to supply the tank with liquid, this arrangement not being known in the art. In this manner the tank can never run dry as the motor and pump will automatically keep the same full.

The device illustrated in Fig. 3 embodies the same principle of operation as that shown in Fig. 1, but as before pointed out is particularly adapted to indicate at each floor landing the position and direction of travel of an'elevator car. This arrangement comprises a number of gages such as 35 one of which is located at eachi'fioor landing of an I elevator system. These gages are all connected together and to my fluid pressure de-' vice. The latter is in many respects similar to that shown at 10 in Fig. 1 and comprises a fluid tight casing low plunger 18 closed at the top and provided with packing 4780 as to form a fluid tight sliding joint with the cylindrical ex tension of the casing in" which it is contained. The pin 20 fits loosely in the hollow plunger 18 and bears against a compression spring as already described in connection with Fig. 1. A compression spring 48 is arranged inside the casing 4E6 and bears against the inner wall of the latter and the top of the hollow plunger, tending to move the same downwardly.- The disk .29 is provided with gear teeth on a portion of its periphery, which teeth mesh with a pinion d by a sprocket wheel 50. A

illustrated since it is well.

a6 provided with a holsprocket chain 51 leads over the wheel 50 v and around a small sprocket wheel which is connected to and rotated by some moving part of the hoisting machine such as the drum shaft, the ratio of gearing being such that the disk 29 makes no more than a half revolution during the time the elevator car makes a trip from top to bottom. I v

The operation of the device illustrated in Fig. 3 just described is as follows: As the down in the'hatchway the toothed disk is given a rotary movement, thereby eliecting an up or down motion of the pin 20. Should the pin move upwardly, the spring in the hollow plunger: is placed under greater tension and it transmits this increased pressure to the plunger 18 which tends to move upwardly into the fluid contained in the casing l6, and thus set up a pressurein the latter which pressure extends throughout the system and is recorded by the gages or indicators 35, which racy of the device would in Fig. 3 the pipe 3:

ineaeoe are preferably graduated according to the number of floors. Thus it is seen that any movement ot the elevator car will eflect a variation of pressure throughout the fluid system and this pressure is a positive and convenient means for operating an indicator of other fluid pressure responsive device. It is to be understood, of course, that the fluid pressure system is absolutely tight against leakage, otherwise the efliciency and accubecome impaired. should be plugged above the top gage, the pipe being left open in the illustration so as to indicate that additional gages and piping may be added as desired.

It will be readily seen by those skilled in the art, that various changes in the details and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims, and I desire, therefore, not to be limited to the precise construction herein disclosed. r 7

What I claim as new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In an indicator, the combination or" two closed receptacles each having a flexible wall, a conduit connecting said receptacles, a fluid confined in saidreoeptaclesand conduit, means for eflecting pressure on the flexible wall of one of said receptacles in cluding a resilient member, and an indicating device operated by fluid pressure,

transmitted to the flexible wall of the other receptacle. 1

2. In a tank indicator, the combination of a float ball, a lever operated by the rise and fall of said ball, a closed receptacle having a flexible wall or diaphragm, a yielding connection between said lever and diaphragm, a pressure gage connected to said closed receptacle by a conduit or pipe, and a fluid confined in said receptacle, conduit, and gage. v

3. In a tank indicator, the combination of a tank adapted to contain a fluid, a float ball controlled by said fluid, a closed receptacle containing fluid having one wall in the form of a deflector, mechanism controlled by said float ball for exerting a variable yielding pressure on the deflector and thereby efl'ecting a variable pressure in the fluid contained in said receptacle, means for removably connecting said mechanism to said tank, means for removably connecting said receptacle to said mechanism, and a gage arranged to indicate the variable pressure in said closed receptacle to indicate the height of fluid in the tank.

Ina tank indicator, the combination of a tank adapted to containing a fluid whose height is to be measured, a fluid receptacle removably-securedto said tank, a diaphragm diaphragm,

separating the fluid in the receptacle from the fluid in the tank, and forming a closure for the tank, a float and adjustable levers connected thereto located in the tank and adapted to eflect a variable pressure on said diaphragm, and a fluid pressure responsive device connected to said receptacle for indicating the height of fluid in said tank.

5. The combination of a tankcontainin fluid, an indicator for registering the height of said fluid, a fluid pressure receptacle applied directly to the tank and forming a closure therefor, a float ball and intermediate connections arranged to vary the pressure in said receptacle, and fluid connections between said receptacle and indicator.

6. In a tank indicator, the combination of a float ball, a member carrying said ball, a lever operated by the rise and fall of said ball, an adjustable link connection between said member and said lever, a closed receptacle having a diaphragm or flexible wall, a yielding connection between said lever and a fluid responsive device connected to said closed receptacle by a conduit or pipe, and a fluid confined in said receptacle, conduit, and fluid responsive'device.

7. In a tank indicator, the-combination of a, fluid responsive device, a closed receptacle containing fluid, means connecting the 9 fluid with said device, a tank adapted to rein said tank, a lever operated by said float ball, means forming an operating connection between said lever and float ball, a spring adapted to be compressed by said lever, and means for transmitting the pressure upon said spring to the fluid contained in said receptacle. "f5;

8. In a tank indicator, the combinationibf a pressure gage, a fluid tight receptacle having a flexible wall or diaphragm, pipe connections between said gage and receptacle, a fluid contained in said gage, pipe and receptacle, a tank adapted to receive liquid, a pivoted float ball in said tank, a lever adapted to transmit a yielding pressure upon the flexible wall of said receptacle, and a connection comprising an adjustable link between said pivoted float ball and lever.

9. In a tank indicator, the combination of a tank adapted to receive a liquid, a float ball in said tank, a lever operated by the movement of said float ball corresponding to the rise and fall or liquid in the tank, means between the lever and float ball including an adjustable connection whereby their relative amplitude of movement may be varied at will, a closed receptacle containing a fluid, means associated with said lever whereby the movement of the latter will vary the pressure on the fluid in said receptacle, and a fluid responsive device arranged to be operated by said varying pressure.

10. The combination With a tank adapted to containing a liquid, of a device forming a ceptacle containing a fluid, means Within the he pressure in said receptacle in response to variation 111 the height of liqclosure therefor and comprising a closed reuid in the tank, and an indicator controlled in said recepthe pressure tacle.

In testimony whereofil have signed my name to this specification in the presence of,

tWo subscribing Witnesses.

AUGUST SUNDH.

v -Witnesses:

J AMES G. BETHELL, J. F. RULE. 

